Macroeconomic outlook and reform progress: Aurangzeb briefs S&P Global Ratings team

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb held a meeting Thursday with a delegation from S&P Global Ratings comprising Yee Farn PHUA, Director, Sovereign Ratings, and Giulia Filocca, Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, to discuss Pakistan’s sovereign credit profile, macroeconomic outlook, and progress under the Government’s comprehensive economic reform agenda.

During the meeting, the Finance Minister highlighted the significant improvement in Pakistan’s macroeconomic fundamentals, emphasizing stronger economic growth, sustained fiscal consolidation, improved debt sustainability, and enhanced external sector resilience underpinned by a pro-growth and fiscally responsible Federal Budget FY2026-27.

He noted that prudent economic management, disciplined policy implementation, and continued structural reforms have strengthened macroeconomic stability, resulting in lower inflation, higher foreign exchange reserves, a stronger external position, renewed investor confidence, and continued progress across key fiscal and external indicators despite a challenging regional and global environment.

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The Finance Minister also underscored Pakistan’s improving public debt profile, highlighting the sustained decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio, the slowest pace of central government debt growth in around 15 years, active debt management through liability management operations and debt buybacks, extension in the maturity profile of domestic debt, historically lower fiscal deficits, and record primary surpluses.

He emphasized that these improvements, supported by stronger revenue mobilization and prudent expenditure management, are reinforcing fiscal sustainability and strengthening Pakistan’s sovereign credit fundamentals.